Muhammad “Mo” Wally, the South African karting champion, concluded the year with the Protea Colours, an honour that most national athletes aspire to obtain.
This came after he won two national championships, securing the top spot on the national leaderboard and placing him in the top 20% for his division internationally.
The 16-year-old has won four African titles and five national championships.
Mo travelled to the United Kingdom in September to compete in the OK-N FIA Karting World Cup, where he finished sixth out of 26 top-ranked karters worldwide.
His reputation as one of the most promising young talents in motorsport was further cemented in October when he finished seventh out of 27 in the prestigious ROK Cup Superfinal in Italy.
Honoured and blessed
Out of the 30 motorsport athletes recognised with Protea Colours this year, Wally was one of them this past Sunday.
“I felt honoured and blessed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with some of South Africa’s greatest motorsport names, many of whom I have looked up to for years,” Wally said.
“It was not as much about the award, but rather the recognition that my hard work is paying off.”
He has had a very unconventional path to success.
He was first exposed to motorsport at the young age of four, when a family friend introduced him to the excitement of the sport.
He was participating in national championships by the age of five, propelled by an unquenchable desire for accuracy and speed.
“To make it to F1, you need significant backing. You have to have both the talent and resources to compete at the higher levels,” he said.
“Earning my Protea Colours will go a long way towards raising my profile and hopefully catching more attention from big-name sponsors.”
BP fuels Wally’s success
Wally’s primary sponsors for this phase of his career are BP Ultimate and BP Rewards, which stand for BP’s fuel additives and loyalty programme divisions, respectively.
“Having BP in my corner has been incredible. Their support and belief in my potential is motivating me to push harder in competitions. I am grateful to have their backing.
“I will be really proud to carry their emblem onto the track next year.”
Now that he has earned his Protea Colours and is ready to move forward, he wants to encourage others to follow their dreams as he has.
“I want people to see that it does not matter where you come from, but how hard you work.
“I plan to someday become South Africa’s first F1 titleholder of the Muslim faith and show others that no matter what their background is, they can also break ceilings.
“My career may still be in its early days, but I’m already working to be the driver that young racers can turn to for help and motivation.”
